140 



THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



These oysters were sent by from 100 to 120 shippers, which represent the number of planters. There are from 

 50 to 75 men in addition, who are hired, and so getting a living out of the oyster-interests here. The narrow-gauge 

 railway company proposes to run a line, which may be finished liy the time this report is published, down the bay 

 shore to Somer's Point, Beesley's Point, and Ocean City. This will furnish so man j' additional facilities for shi])ping, 

 doing away with the present necessity of hauling the oysters by team from one to seven miles to the station, that 

 a large increase of oyster-production is anticipated. Many new men are engaging in planting, and the expectation 

 seems well founded. 



Although I have reckoned all the shipments in the table printed above in barrels, yet in fact the use of sacks 

 of gunny-cloth is common here. The sacks, I was told, cost from 8 to 9 cents, and will last for ten or fifteen trips, if 

 they can be got back from the consignee in Philadelphia. Barrels are cheaper, since they can be bought at 10 cents 

 apiece, in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, where the summer hotels consume enormous quantities of imi^orted flour, 

 and they will generally be returned for several ti'ips. Two sacks are counted to the barrel, or 250 oysters to the sack. 



The prices received for Lake's bay oysters last season averaged 40 cents, at which rate the total value of the 

 crop, which may be very closely estimated at 130,000 bushels, would come to $52,000. Divided among 100 planters 

 this would give an average income of about $520. 



Oyster-fleet of So^ier's Point district. — I counted at Smith's Landing about 33 pretty good sail-boats 

 and about 50 garvies, etc. I judge from inquiries, that this was one-third of all owned between the railway and 

 Somer's Point, and that $200 apiece would be a large average estimate for the value of the sail-boats. Many of 

 them devote much of their time, in summer, to raking clams from the extensive grounds at the lower end of the bay. 

 In the custom-house of this district, situated at Somer's . Point, I find reported as registered on July 1, 1880, 59 

 vessels engaged in oystering and clamming, as follows: 



Name. 



A. Kobinson 



Alfred C. Harmer .. 



Belle 



C. P. Hoffman 



Charles Lawrence . . 

 Cordelia R. Price . . 



Deceiver 



Estella 



George S. Courtney 



H. M. Somers 



Hattie J 



Henry J. May 



J. A. Cbamberliu .. 



J. G. Crate .. 



J. & C. Merritt .... 



James W. Lee 



John Anna 



Joseph 



Margaret A. Amelia 

 Mary Disston 



Tons. Name. 



30.87 Mary Ella 



2-.>.25 E.B.Leeds 



20.24 Susan Leach 



41.75 Two Sisters 



21. 50 Wallace M. French 



42.30 Alert 



22. 64 Andrew Luff barry . . 



40.25 BeUe 



25. 15 Charles Haight 



31.23 Dan Sooy 



30.03 'EllaM 



25.42 Emily Smith , 



61.25 Express. , 



43.32 Golden Light 



35.41 Hunter 



20.83 Idelwild 



29.36 J. F. Kuapp , 



31.70 loetta 



23. 85 John Wesley 



33.18 JuliaA. Eeid 



Tons. 

 28. 92 

 34.79 

 22.00 

 26.48 

 23.19 



7.46 



9.67 

 XL 93 

 14 70 

 15.49 

 15.49 

 13.09 



7.32 

 16.00 

 14. 02 



9. 73 

 16. 24 

 12. 60 

 15.76 

 11.41 



Name. 



L. C. Wallace 



Lela 



Linnie Norcross . . 



Little Sallie 



Lizzie 



Maggie Sutphen . 

 Major Anderson.. 



Malcom 



Margaret Ann 



Manetta Sheldon. 



Nautilus 



Ocean Star 



EhodaS. 



S. M. Daugherty. 



U. S. Grant 



Uncle Dan 



Volant 



William Albert . . 

 Wonder 



Tons. 



16. 61 



9.17 



8.50 



13.90 



7.28 



16.48 



17. 51 



5. 63 



8.51 



9.:i5 



10.95 



12. 69 



18.05 



10.99 



8.47 



11.49 



7.44 



6.22 



7.49 



Total 1,165.60 



The collector of the district, Mr. Thomas E. Morris, adds : " In addition to the above there are some hundreds 

 of small boats, under five tons, engaged in catching clams and oysters in this district, of which I can give no 

 account." I should say that about $75,000 would represent the total value of all the floating property, large and 

 small, devoted to the shellfisheries in this neighborhood, which includes the coast of Burlington and Atlantic 

 counties, but is practically restricted to Lake's bay and Great Egg Harbor. 



Great Egg Habor and Dennis. — Having crossed the Great Egg Harbor river, you find yourself in Cape 

 May county, and still among oystermen. 



The Great Egg Harbor river and bay, with its tributary, the Tuekahoe river, contain large and ancient seed-beds, 

 which supply a large part of this coast with all the seed transplanted. These beds have been greatly extended in 

 area since they began to be tonged, and do not seem greatly to suffer in consequence of the yearly raids made upon 

 them. In the Great Egg Harbor river several men have, within a few years, undertaken to raise young oysters by 

 planting cultch (shells) and catching spawn. They do not use this themselves, but when it is a year old sell it to 

 planters, who paid this year about 40 cents a bushel. There is no difflculty in securing such a supply of spawn 

 every season. The abundance of seed-oysters in this bay formerlj- is proverbial. I was assured by more than one 

 person, that years go it was the custom, at the beginning of the season, to anchor a scow upon the ground and not 

 move all day. Continuous touging in one spot, from sunrise to sunset, wcmld not exhaust the bottom. The seed lay 

 several inches deep, apparently, and from 100 to 200 bushels could be caught l)y one man in a single day. Now the 

 seed is far thinner, but the beds are spread over a largely increased area, due to incessant tonging. 



Adjoining Great Egg Harbor and the neighboring coast is Upper township. South of it lies Dennis, which 

 stretches across to the Delaware bay, and is bounded southerly by Townsend's inlet. My information in respect to 

 both i.s chiefly Irum Mr. Peter Watkius, a shix)per, and one of the largest planters in the district. 



